In 1956, John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (1917–1993) took his interracial big band to the Middle East, Yugoslavia, and Greece for the first State Department-sponsored jazz tour. “I sort’ve liked the idea of representing America,” Gillespie wrote, “but I wasn’t going over to apologize for the racist policies of America.” After a successful tour, Gillespie wired President Eisenhower (1890–1969), “Jazz is our own American folk music that communicates with all peoples regardless of language or social barriers.”